Tom Ewing on music + John Peel | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/music/series/tom-ewing-on-music+johnpeel
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Does the death of 6 Music mean the end of 'new music'? | Tom Ewinghttp://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/mar/04/6music-new-music-bbc
Calls to save 6 Music invoke the idea of 'new music'. But the phrase needs unpicking – making music discovery a central promise is a fraught business<p>On the morning its future was thrown into public jeopardy, the digital radio station BBC 6 Music featured an online chart-rigging campaign. Since Rage Against the Machine's chart success, Facebook has played host to a rash of these. Most simply baffle – lost souls trying to propel The Chicken Song back to No 1 – but some are more original. This one, Storm the Charts, at least has ambition on its side. Its organisers demand nothing less than the overthrow of the entire top 40 and the replacement of established chart acts for a week with unsigned or independent artists. Read the small print, though, and their aims are more modest: &quot;We'll call a 'success' finding some good new music.&quot;</p><p>Perhaps 6 Music had a point to make: calls to save the station have also invoked the idea of &quot;new music&quot; a lot. According to a joint letter from the BPI and indie label association AIM, 6 Music &quot;plays four to five times more new songs than comparable commercial stations&quot;. Since new releases are capped at 50% of the station's output anyway, that is an impressive figure and testimony to the power of looser playlisting. One important freedom 6 Music has over commercial radio is the freedom not to work a new release to death.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/mar/04/6music-new-music-bbc">Continue reading...</a>Music6 MusicBBCJohn PeelCultureThu, 04 Mar 2010 23:00:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/mar/04/6music-new-music-bbcAFP/Getty ImagesThe patron saint of 'new music' ... John Peel. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesAFP/Getty ImagesThe patron saint of 'new music' ... John Peel. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesTom Ewing2010-03-04T23:00:03Z